1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image reading apparatuses, image reading apparatus controlling programs and methods of controlling image reading apparatuses, and particularly to such apparatuses, programs and methods enabling personal-information management.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image reading apparatus has been known such as a multi function peripheral (MFP) including a scanner reading an image of an original and a function allowing the image read by the scanner to be copied on a sheet. The MFP is capable of externally transmitting an image for example through a facsimile line and externally receiving image data and printing the data on a sheet.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-036675 discloses an image transmission apparatus that prevents facsimile communication transmitted to a wrong destination as an input is incorrectly done or the like and to do so the apparatus recognizes and displays the destination's telephone number indicated in an image of an original at a particular area and urges the user to confirm whether the transmission of interest may be done for the displayed destination's telephone number. The user confirms accordingly and as a result if the transmission is not allowed then the apparatus urges the user to correct the telephone number, and displays the corrected telephone number and urges the user to confirm whether the transmission may be done for that telephone number. If the telephone number is confirmed it is registered.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-311990 discloses a transmission apparatus that compares a destination's facsimile number received from an operation input unit with the destination's facsimile number read from an original to be transmitted, and if the comparison provides a result that the numbers match, then the apparatus transmits the original's image data, otherwise the apparatus displays a message urging the user to confirm the facsimile number.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-088633 discloses an E-mail transmission and reception system allowing a read image to arrive at a correct destination, rather than a wrong destination. To do so, the publication discloses that from the read image the destination's E-mail address and/or similar communication information is/are recognized and stored, and displayed. The user refers to displayed addresses and/or similar communication information and therefrom selects and inputs a destination. The read image is transmitted to the selected E-mail address. The stored E-mail addresses and/or other communication information are supplementarily corrected by a request transmitted on a network to correct communication information.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-102543 discloses an information collection system which resolves the inconvenience of bringing home catalogs, CD-ROMs and the like distributed as materials in exhibitions and the like. An image associated with string information, such as a bar code, is shot and transmitted via E-mail to a server. The server searches for and retrieves the string information associated with the image and searches for a Web page associated with the detected string information. The server puts the retrieved result and information contained in the E-mail together to create a HTML document, and issues a URL corresponding to the HTML document and transmits the URL to the device that shot the image.
If a document is to include a contact address or similar personal information (e.g., an address, a telephone number, a facsimile number, an E-mail address and/or the like), then the person in charge of creating the document must carefully do so to indicate the latest, correct contact address therein, which is cumbersome.
Furthermore, if a document is copied and distributed to a destination, and the recipient refers to a contact address indicated in the distributed article to make contact with the address, the recipient must confirm that the address is the latest, correct address, which is cumbersome. The techniques disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2001-036675 and 2005-311990 also require users to confirm correct contact addresses.
Furthermore, if a contact address included in a document is referred to make contact with a person in charge, and the contact address is obsolete or unupdated, the contact cannot be done. For facsimile, E-mail addresses and the like, if a document is sent to a wrong place, it nevertheless incurs a reception fee and causes inconvenience to the recipient as the recipient is involved for example in searching for the intended recipient, a process for returning the transmission, and the like. Furthermore, if the document is open, personal information, classified information and the like may leak.
Furthermore, there has also been a case in which in order to confirm whether a contact address or similar personal information is the latest information, a user accesses a database, which is unupdated, resulting in erroneous modification. In other words, this leads to inviting a confusion in which information is for real. Furthermore, if the database holds obsolete information, it is also necessary to take time and trouble to update it. The technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-088633 provides erroneous modification if a request issued to correct communication information is based on obsolete data.